Page 13 of My Italian Stepbrother

“Can I come in?” he asks me in a hushed voice.

I move aside to let him in, curious about why he’s being so quiet and actually asking permission this time. Normally, when I see him, he just barges in.

“What’s going on?” Confusion is evident in my tone.

“I have a surprise for you,” he says, a smile creeping up on his lips.

My heart skips a beat in my chest. A surprise? With Benito, who knows what that could mean? A surprise for him could be some other punishment, and I’ve been on edge wondering if I would get one after walking in on him.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad,” he laughs. He must have seen the look on my face and read my mind.

I don’t fully trust that it won’t be anything bad, but I’m genuinely curious. He’s been on my mind since our kiss yesterday, and at dinner, we played footsie with each other. I’ve been getting so many mixed signals, and I need to know for certain what’s going on with us.

“What’s the surprise then?” I probe cautiously.

He pulls a blindfold out of his pocket and holds it up to me. My eyes widen because that’s not what I’m expecting. He walks around me to tie it behind my head, and I let him.

“What’s this for?” I ask him, my breathing already ragged from the close proximity.

“You ask too many questions, Brie. Besides, have you forgotten how to address me?” He takes my arm and leads me out of my room.

“Can you at least tell me where we’re going…Daddy?” He guides me down the hall, one hand on my lower back.

We reach the top of the stairs, and I fumble around for the railing for a second before he lifts me and carries me down. I wrap my hands around his neck and hang on tightly, savoring the way his hands feel as they grip my body.

His masculine scent is distracting, and I belatedly notice that he didn’t answer my question.

“What if our parents see this?” I whisper in his ear as he walks down the steps.

“They’re both out, don’t worry.”

I chew on my lower lip, wondering what he has planned since we’re apparently all alone in the house. Excitement sings in my body at the possibilities. He sets me back down on my feet and guides me some more. The heat hits me, and I realize he’s taken me outside.

I’m so curious about what he’s doing, so I reach for the blindfold to take a quick peek. He catches me and yanks it back down.

“Do that again and I’ll have to reprimand you for disobeying me,” he says in a stern and confident voice.

It’s a tempting threat. I almost rip the blindfold off completely, just to see how he’d react, but I ultimately decide against it. He leads me to his car, and I hop in the front seat, loving the feel of leather. When he gets on the driver’s side and starts the car, I’m even more confused.

If we have the house to ourselves, why would we need to go somewhere else? What’s he planning?

We drive in silence for about fifteen minutes, and the car suddenly stops and turns off.

“We’re almost there,” he informs me as he gets out of the car.

My door opens and he takes my hand to help me out. We walk for a few minutes, him catching me when I stumble. Then, he grabs my arm to signal for me to stop and stands behind me once again, untying the blindfold.

I blink a few times to help my eyes focus and look around me. We’re on top of a hill with a picnic spread out in front of us. There are a few candles lit, trays of food, a bottle of wine, and the sun setting right before us. Of all the things I expected, this wasn’t it. Something blooms in my chest, and I chuckle, delighted at the lengths he’s gone through to pull this off.

“What’s all this?”

“I figured you and I need some time to get to know each other, away from everything going on at home,” he says, sitting down and gesturing for me to join him.

I kneel on the ground, careful not to expose myself to him in the skirt I’m wearing, and smile at him.

“This is really cute,” I beam, picking up a grape from the basket and popping it in my mouth.

He watches me for a moment, a smile still on his face, and does the same.

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